Nissan’s New London Taxi Cab Could Be Electric Too

They’re as well-known as The Houses of Parliament or Harrods luxury department store, but soon London’s iconic black taxi cabs could be getting an all-electric makeover courtesy of an electric taxi being tested by Nissan.

The news was announced at the London launch of the NV200 taxi cab, a diesel-powered variant of the gasoline NV200 taxi cab that helped Nissan win a $1 billion, ten-year exclusive contract to become the official supplier of New York Taxi Cabs from 2013.

Nissan says its diesel-powered NV200 black Hackney carriage will receive official London Taxi certification later this year, followed next year by the introduction of an all-electric e-NV200 taxi test fleet.

At its unveiling earlier this year, Nissan’s corporate vice-president Hideto Murakami promised the e-NV200 prototype “would energize the current compact van market in more ways than one.”

With ever-stringent emissions requirements requiring all but the greenest of vehicles pay a daily congestion charge when driving in London, an all-electric e-NV200 taxi has the potential to be an instant hit.

“Improving air quality in London is one of the most important challenges I face as Mayor,” said Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. “I am absolutely delighted that manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and are responding to the challenge I set in my air quality strategy to reduce taxi emissions and improve efficiency.”

However, as Nissan warns, the success of a potential electric taxi fleet is heavily dependent on the infrastructure that cities put in place to support it.

I hate to even say this, because I am not a fan, but Better Place battery switching is probably the most appropriate technology.

debraredhead
Posted: 8/8/2012 8:38am PDT

Not bad for taxi drivers. A 30 minute rest every hour and a half.

Aloysius
Posted: 2/28/2013 6:05am PST

I'm a big fan of electric, but a couple buddies of mine drive hybrid taxi. Not sure how they could make money on a busy nite, with having to stop and charge often. Plus a taxi operates 24/7, pretty hard on the batteries. Article about the Osaka leaf taxi experiment seems to prove the point. I'd love to know what battery chemistry and design would work best